Redskins Are Last Remaining Team Concerned About Eagles Wide-9

Redskins Are Last Remaining Team Concerned About Eagles Wide-9

The Birds are headed down to D.C. on Sunday for an NFC East
showdown with Robert Griffin III and the Redskins, an encounter with
far-reaching implications for both sides – the losers will fall into sole
possession of last place. Exciting!

At this point, there really isn’t much reason to believe the
2012 Eagles could beat anybody, only the Skins are pretty awful, too. Hell,
Mike Shanahan’s coaching staff is actually worried about the infamous Wide-9. Seriously.

Redskins insider Mike Jones writes in his Washington Post
blog that the Wide-9 could actually pose a problem, specifically in the running
game. Washington’s offense uses a lot of off-tackle runs, which of course is
where the Eagles’ defensive ends are rushing from in Jim Washburn’s scheme.

No, these are not just the insane ramblings of a
sportswriter. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan offered his take:

“It’s a huge challenge,” offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan
said. “They really crash the pocket; they crash the O-line every single play,
whether it’s a run or a pass. It really turns people. It’s hard to get outside
on it. It muddies everything up and pushes everything from the middle. It can
be a tough defense to run on, and it can be a real tough defense to drop back
and throw on.”

I presume he’s watched a lot of film on the Eagles, enough
to know their defensive line hasn’t “crashed” much of anything lately. Philadelphia
is allowing 129.6 yards per game on the ground since Week 5, and only two clubs
have fewer than their 14 sacks.

It’s been the only true mystery on this miserable Eagles squad.
Last year, the defensive line had 46 sacks alone. Teams have countered in a
variety of manners – max protection, shorter drops – but the reality is they
simply aren’t getting the job done.

It’s even more confusing because a Washburn unit has never
failed so spectacularly. While he worked in Tennessee for 12 years, the Titans routinely
featured one of the best lines in football, yet somehow Pro Bowlers Jason
Babin, Trent Cole, and Cullen Jenkins have seemingly disappeared.

But dammit, the Redskins are still concerned. Well, not
quite all of them, I guess. Running back Alfred Morris, who figures to be
seeing the bulk of the carries against the Birds, believes he’ll be fine.

“It poses a threat, but if we set it up, and run like we
normally do, we’ll be fine. And I think even with the Wide-9, we’ll still be
able to get outside of them with the athletic tackles that we have. I still
think we can get around those edges even though that defense is designed to
take those edges away.”

Matt Rhule's first Baylor hires include 4 Temple assistants

Matt Rhule's first Baylor hires include 4 Temple assistants

WACO, Texas -- New Baylor coach Matt Rhule has made some immediate Texas connections by hiring the president of the state's high school coaches who is a former Bears receiver.

Rhule announced his first five hires with the Bears on Friday, three days after being named Baylor's coach. They include four members from his staff at Temple and David Wetzel, the head coach and athletic director the past 13 seasons at Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio.

Sean Padden will serve as Baylor's director of football operations, similar to his role at Temple the past four years.

Rhule didn't immediately announce the titles and job duties for Wetzel, Francis Brown, Mike Siravo and Evan Cooper. There was also no indication of when the rest of his staff would be completed.

Brown and Siravo were defensive assistants at Temple, and Cooper was director of player personnel for the Owls.

Wetzel, who has coached in the state high school ranks for 25 years, was serving as president of the Texas High School Football Coaches Association. He lettered at Baylor in 1990 and 1991 while playing for Grant Teaff, and also earned a master's degree from the school in 1994. Before Reagan, he was head coach at schools in Killeen and Austin.

Wetzel told the Waco Tribune-Herald that he expects to play a major role in recruiting, but didn't know yet if he'd be coaching offense or defense.

"Given the opportunity, it's really a unique deal," Wetzel told the newspaper. "I feel like it's God's timing for me to be in the right place at the right time."

When Rhule was introduced Wednesday in Waco, he said he had already received about 480 text messages, many from coaches. He also didn't rule out the possibility of some of the current Baylor assistants staying, but said he hadn't had a chance to meet with them. Those assistants were retained from former coach Art Briles' staff with Jim Grobe as acting head coach this season.

NoteBaylor announced Friday that Jalen Pitre, a defensive back from Stafford, Texas, signed a financial aid agreement that will allow him to enroll for the spring 2017 semester after graduating from high school early. Before Rhule was hired, Pitre was the only player verbally committed for Baylor's recruiting class in February. He had 83 tackles, six interceptions and four forced fumbles as a senior.

Dorial Green-Beckham didn't support any charity with his cleats last Sunday.

In reality, he was funding the NFL.

The Eagles' receiver was fined $6,076 by the NFL for wearing Yeezy cleats (Kanye West's shoes), which had no affiliation to a charitable organization or cause, CSNPhilly.com has confirmed. Players around the NFL last weekend wore decorative spikes supporting a charity or cause they felt passionately about as part of the league's My Cleats, My Cause promotion. Green-Beckham was fined because his cleats were unapproved by the league; earlier this season Houston receiver DeAndre Hopkins was fined for wearing Yeezy cleats.